Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, it's plot and character, nor do I own Master Sun. All right belong to Hiro Mashima and the Hong Sisters.
The sky brewed in a wisp of gray clouds and chilly breezes that fogged up the window. It was only mere seconds until thunder clapped, and raindrops pattered on the window pane. A woman watched wearily outside, as she cursed under her breath, fear glossing over her eyes.
"Miss Haru, could you please clean up room 413?"
The said woman, whose name was Juvia, froze at the said room's number. There was a very specific reason as to why she carefully avoided the room as much as she could, with whispers of hauntings that prevented anyone from moving in. Yet still, she couldn't disobey that sweet lady who had given her an endearing nickname, a part-time job and had let her pay her rent late on a few occasions.
"Of course, Miss Mirajane. Juvia would love to," she said with a forced smile. As the fair-haired woman retreated back to her apartment, Juvia slowly made her way up the fourth floor, taking steady steps as she lagged behind the cleaning supplies she would need. From the first floor to the second, her heart rate begun to pick up its pace, her hand growing clammy as her grip tightened on the bucket and broom she was holding. Taking quick breaths, extremely tempted to close her eyes, she somehow finally made it to the fourth floor.
"Juvia loves god, Juvia loves god, Juvia loves god," she repeated, hoping the mantra would take her fear away. Unfortunately, it hadn't, as she gulped, making her way down the eerily dimmed hallway before she arrived in front of the very room she had tried to avoid. Taking a deep breath, she anxiously opened the door, when a terrifying sight appeared before her.
A strange figure of a woman huddled in the corner, glowing dimly in the dark room, as she sobbed loudly. Thunder clapped outside, shaking the windows, as the rain seems to patter much harder as if open palms thumped heavily on the window. Lightning flashed, illuminating the almost empty room, excluding the two lone figures in the room.
Juvia couldn't breathe, as if two hands held her throat tightly in between them. It was like a scene in a horror movie, and this would be the part where she would die in a short, yet terrifying instant. Frozen like a statue, time stilled for a moment until the strange figure began to turn its head towards her direction. Unfortunately, it would've have been fine if not for the fact that the figure's back was turned away from her, it's neck bent in a twisted way, and it's face….oh god it's face had been so fucking gruesome. Hollowed eyes, pale skin, and ripped flesh torn away to create a permanent smile.
It was a nightmare fuel, and Juvia was so damn sure that it wouldn't stop. Thunder then suddenly clapped outside again, and lightning flashed once again. Juvia flinched, closing her eyes momentarily, before opening again. Juvia jumped back, the strange figure no longer there. Instead, an old woman stood with crinkled eyes and tear-stained cheeks, wearing the most melancholic smile she had ever seen. As if magic was at work, the rained settled from a raging storm to light drops, and the once dark room was now a tinted blue hue from the lady's glowing dim light. Juvia's heart ached, the old woman reminding her of what her mother was, as her pale hands unconsciously reached out to the lady before her.
As the rain began to rage outside once again, Juvia sighed. Once again, she cursed human empathy, as she finished cleaning up the now abandoned apartment, the lady having disappeared earlier. In exasperation, Juvia stores away the cleaning equipment, before zipping up her hoodie to head outside in the freezing rain. As she took leisure steps in the storm, she groaned at the reason had forced her humane side to walk out late in the evening in the freezing weather. And all that took was two words that were uttered from the lady's mouth.
"Help me."
Gray was well aware of his cold personality that matched his brooding appearance, with his frigid eyes, and his uncontrollable hair that spiked like sharp icicles. He knew that his blunt mouth and harshness had gotten him an infamous reputation with employees and co-workers alike. Gray knew that he wasn't titled the 'Ice Master,' for nothing (although that asshat Natsu preferred referring to him as Ice Princess instead). So yes, Gray was very much informed thank you very much, that he, in fact, was an absolute asshole. And that 'quality' of him reared on its ugly end with the horrid rain outside.
The storm raged outside when he arrived at a vast area where a little house stood alone in the midst of a place that clearly was ideal to build a mall on. Saying his formal greetings, he went inside the house as he started the conversation with the man about the deal he had to offer.
"Sir, this entire area is a perfect place to build a public building, and the company and I are willing to pay you as much as you want for it. How about we start the deal with say, a million dollars?" The old man looked confused, before registering his words as he quickly shook his head.
"I'm sorry son but I can't hand this place to you. My wife...this is the only reminder I have of her. She wishes that she would be buried here, and I simply wouldn't be able to do that if I sold it to you." The elderly man eyes glinted with tears, but Gray simply shrugged it off as he sighed in frustration.
"I'm aware that you care deeply for your wife. However, I am also aware that you need to look at the brighter side of the deal. With the million dollars, you could bury her in a gold casket if you wanted to. I'm sure that your wife will just be as equally pleased with that." Gray was growing frustrated, his eyes weary as he stared at the man who seemed to be unsure of himself. Damn it old man, just accept the deal! I don't have all evening.
The man sighed as he pointed at the direction of a pale white rose placed carefully in a glass. "See right there son? That's the last rose I gave to my wife before she died." The man sadly smiled as he stared lovingly at empty space, as if he was watching a projection of the memories he had. The cold businessman, however, interrupted the old man's series of thoughts.
"And the point is?" Gray sounded so entirely condescending, and he knew how much of a douchebag he was being at the moment. Yet still, the senseless ideas of useless promises that were going to be broken anyway irritated him so badly. The old man took notice of it, feeling angry at the lack of empathy the young man had.
"The point here is," the elder man's voice said firmly, "my wife had already died two months ago. That rose has not wilted ever since, and I've running around trying to find a solution to finally put my wife's spirit to rest. It was only when a peculiarly pretty young lady told me to take my wife's urn and bury her there had the rose show any sign of wilting. So I cannot accept the offer; I apologize for causing an inconvenience to you."
Damn it all. Gray could not hold himself back as he knew that the words he was about utter would be something he would definitely regret later. "Do you really believe that complete nonsense? Superstitious things like that were only made in hopes that naive people like you would be gullible enough and pay money to solve those strange occurrences, when in reality it could be easily solved by scientific research. Yet still, I wouldn't put past you to come up with a logical reason like that." Gray heaved, a part of him feeling sorry for what he said, and the other part relieved for finally being able to release his frustrations. However he was far from being done.
He walked outside in a flamboyant and rather conceited manner, arms wide open as his expensive suit was now damp due to the pouring rain. "If things such as this truly did exist, then lightning should strike me right now." He paused for a moment, feeling the raindrop splash harshly against his skin. A second, then two he waited, closing his eyes as he waited for something he knew was never going to come.
He opened his eyes to find the man looking livid, however he could not help but smirk at him for his superstitious nonsense. He looked directly at the man as he made his formal farewell, before heading outside the gates and into his car. Driving away, a single thought passed through his mind the entire time. And so, I'm right once again.
Unbeknownst to him as he drove away, the man had later buried the urn in his backyard in the midst of the pouring rain, as he whispered sweet messages in hopes his wife would hear. As the elderly man retreated inside, soaked from the rain, the pale white rose moved slightly from the wind that entered through the window, then suddenly crumbling down to wilt, before it disappeared.
Juvia approached the nearby house, which oddly smelled like beer, as she noticed the crowd of people exiting the gate. It was mere seconds after, that she realized how she had been standing alone in the middle of the front yard. Save from a few people passed out from having too many drinks, she had been the only one that was entirely awake except for the man chugging down what seemed to be his fourth bottle of beer. "Sir, Juvia doesn't mean to pry, but do you know where elder woman's son is?"
The man grumbled as he slammed the beer down harshly on the wooden steps. "Well girlie, yer talkin' to him right here. What business do ye have with me, eh?" Juvia approached him, before handing him the envelope, as he looked towards her confusedly.
"Your mother wanted Juvia to hand this to you; it's money for all the debts you owe. She told Juvia that she hope you use it for its intended purposes."
The man grumbled slightly. "So she was loaded, but didn't tell me huh?" Juvia shook her head at the man, knowing that he was most definitely not going to use the money his mother had worked hard to earn for the purpose it was intended for. She sighed, walking away before remembering something. In the end, she'd known it had been useless to try convincing him otherwise. Feeling dejected, she sighed over how greed and power overtook so many people she'd known. However, there was still a message to relay and she was definitely not about to break a promise with the gentle old lady.
Turning to face the man, her eyes darkened as she spoke. "Oh, and um, you're mother wanted Juvia to relay something to you." Juvia inhaled the cold air, glaring at the drunken man before hollering, "You lecherous bastard of a son! You better not waste the damn money on your gambling addiction or you'll spend the rest of yer' life haunted by me ye scum!" The man stared at her, utterly dumbfounded and felt as if he'd just been insulted. A few awkward seconds passed by in silent stares, as Juvia felt her face warm in embarrassment, before saying her quick goodbyes completely running away.
She ran the entire with a tugging feeling that she had forgotten something. It had only been at the bus stop when she realized that the bus didn't come by to these obscure places during these hours. She exhaled in frustration, letting the rain she had been so used to drench her hoodie entirely. Yet in the distance she saw lights approaching quickly, clearly belonging to a car. Juvia stood up not knowing that the moment the car stops, was the moment she would be a step closer to finding a cure for her pain.
And when Gray stopped for the strange drenched woman in the rain, he too was not aware that she will relieve him of his past that haunted him in the quiet of his dreams. As the rain stilled, the clouds began to clear up, as the moon's light appeared much brighter than it had ever been. The world will never tell if it was just simply as coincidence in the logical reasoning that many had believed. Or perhaps it had been fate in that chilly, rainy day, as the Ice Master, finally met the Sun.
AN: This was a rewrite from my old account, that was hopefully much better than the last one. Will edit the chapters from here, and most likely would post when I have the time. Constructive criticism is appreciated here.